The Worth of a Trainer and his Pokemon
by Psychical
Summary: Fletch firmly believes he beat Dianthia, the Kalos Champion, on strength alone. Dianthia is intent on proving him wrong, and gives him a gift. Was Fletch right? Or will he realize otherwise? And when supernatural powers come between him and his Pokemon, does he persevere or will he be consumed by the "pandemic" facing both humans and Pokemon? Human/Gardevoir non-lemon. M for safety
1. Go Fletch!

**I had an idea that's been brewing for a a long time. So I've recently come to love the Infamous game series. When I played it I thought to myself, what if I gave Pokemon strange powers, but keep the story element of my own? Well that's how this story was birthed, but I did not label it crossover because it is the Pokemon universe with a sprinkle of Infamous powers here and there. Do please let me know what you think about it in a review or PM. Maybe I can get a good thing going.**

Many trainers and fans alike can agree on one thing overall. People love their Eevees and pretty much all of its evolutions. All 8 of them and Eevee itself, it just speaks to them in a very different way. It is the sociability of the Pokémon itself? Or is it the combat potential and usefulness in battle?

This is where people get divided, are Pokémon actually just creatures in place of guns and weapons? Or are they more than that, friends, pets, and even lifelong companions? I knew how I thought one time. Only the best, most purebred Eevee's would be on my teams, nothing weak, only the strongest.

Hell, that got me so fricking far too. I challenged that Kalos league, beat all the gym leaders, even beat the elite four and the champion herself! I was so sure that it was because of strength and physical prowess alone that I achieved victory, that I was unstoppable as long as I kept the strongest Pokémon on my team, I firmly believed that.

"Believe me; it will not get you far." Diantha said as she recalled her Gardevoir who had just been beaten down by a Flareon. "If you truly believe that you alone beat me on strength alone, you are so naïve." She pointed at the Flareon. "Look into his eyes, what exactly _do _you see? A tool? A living testament to your strength?" She shook her head. "You can't lie to yourself forever, Fletch. Look into their eyes, then into your heart. You aren't too far gone, change while you can."

That was my name, Fletch. That was what the champion of Kalos said to me. She called me naïve, even after I crushed her Gardevoir that she had bonded with for so long. Of course I was strong, stronger than the champion, the elite four, hell, dare I say I was the strongest in the world!

But that wasn't it. It just wasn't true. One morning, a month after I had beat her, I found myself letting out all of my Pokémon that I used in the final battle against her. Note that I only used Eevee evolutions, nothing else. A Flareon, Umbreon, Sylveon, Vaporeon, Glaceon, and a Leafeon. They all stood at attention, but looking back on it, it wasn't that type of attention I had desired when I became a trainer initially. It was one of seriousness only, no fun, no pleasure, no bonding, all business.

The ironic thing was, I was nothing like that. No, I was relaxed, friendly, and approachable. I guess only I thought that. Not even my own Pokémon ever bonded with me. They just charged into battle at my orders, not caring if they were knocked down or not. That's no way for any Pokémon to live… just no way.

And to add onto that, Diantha's words rang in my head like a church bell. I mean it, I literally freaked each and every one of them out by just staring into their eyes for a long 60 seconds each. It crept them out, really. When did their trainer ever get to eye-level with them other than to criticize them for missing a vital attack? Never, I can tell you that.

"I thought about what you said." I found Diantha in a café in Lumiose City, and she was the person I sought out the second I had my epiphany. "I did exactly as you asked, looked into the eyes of my Flareon, and all of the Pokémon I've used." I remember the crowd gathering around as I exposed my mind out to her. "Their strength is only but a fraction of how I beat you a month ago." She and her Gardevoir looked at me with curious eyes. It was like taking a standardized test in school, where the teacher's eyes were always focused on you. It was look that said: _Show us who you really are. Show us how you've grown. _It wasn't just Diantha's face, but her Gardevoir, the bystanders, and their Pokémon were all dialed in on me to see how I changed. "I lost sight of what I was supposed to love."

"Hm…" She responded. "Why did you become a trainer?" That question hit me hard. As unprepared as I believed I was, I said what came naturally.

"I became a trainer out of looking for a fix to seal a hole in my life, to find love, and to find a purpose to live and a purpose to wake up each day. That was my reason, all those years ago." I stated. The look on Diantha's face was unchanged, but the look on the Gardevoir's face shifted to her trainer. "Then, when I got a taste of what power really was when I got that pure-bred Eevee that is my Flareon. Nothing could stop us, we kept winning, battle after battle, and I slowly was filling the desire of love and that hole with glory and desire to win and defeat more and more, without ever feeling like anything other than my might alone pulled me through." The Gardevoir looked back at me. "I raised my entire team with the purpose to win, not to love. And thus, my victory over you holds no merit in my eyes." There was a murmur in the crowd, I could hear it. Diantha's face then became one of calm shock, while her Gardevoir had a small smile on her face. "I don't care what the league rules say, I do not honor that victory." Diantha walked up to me, and my heart literally froze. She's gonna rip me a new one, that's what I thought. To my surprise, she handed me a pokeball and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Oh you beat me Fletch, that much is clear." I didn't like her words. "I'll be honest with you dear. You beat me with strength and a little bit of care for your Pokémon. The little bit of care that prevented you from being undesirable." She smiled. "If you raised your team with even a hint more of love and caring, I wouldn't even knock out your Leafeon. You are strong Fletch, never deny that, but it is all up to you if you want to love your Pokémon back. You beat the champion, you hold that title. And plus, I like you a lot." I blushed, yeah, but hey the 'Pokémon Duchess of Queensville' just told me she liked me. You realize she's like the top of the celebrities chart right?

"What are you saying?" I sounded like a little kid didn't I? She smiled again, that smile man, just something about it is so frightening, but calming.

"How about you take my place for a while as Champion of Kalos?" Everyone, even the baby in the stroller gasped at her suggestion.

"So wait, hold on. Is this a test? Like you can't be serious." Like honestly, if you were me, would you just say yes, believing those words were sincere. If you say yes, you are lying to yourself, and don't do that to yourself, sound familiar?

"Look Fletch. I've been beaten by many great trainers, but none posses the potential and authority you do. I'll still be the real champion, but you get to sit in the throne for a bit. You take challengers, solve issues, if you desire of course, and see what happens." I would totally be into that, so naturally I tried to decline, but she wasn't going to let me out of it.

"I can't, it's too massive of a merit. I can't Diantha, I'm sorry." Then, to add to my redness, she took my hands now.

"Look at me Fletch." Those eyes too, jesus it is like she was carved out of ice. "Modesty is a great trait. Very few posses it, but don't go down that road of turning down something you rightfully deserve. I will not force you to do anything at all, but act on what your heart tells you to do now." She still pressed the pokeball against my hand. I heard it speak to me, really I did. It said something like 'believe in yourself' or something. I then looked at my pokeballs on my waist. They were not out, but I could see each one of my Pokémon's faces smiling at me, telling me to do it. They now had a say in my choices. I gripped the woman's hands tightly and smiled.

"I'll do it."

Of course, that's how my second journey began. I believed it was over and that I'd just up and settle down in a city now that my dream had come true. But that was just the icing on the cake. She gave me a pokeball that contained something that talked. I was worried at first because it would make seven Pokémon on my team. She smiled and said only six could be used for battling. I could keep whatever was inside the ball outside and by my side. It would be like having another person traveling and assisting me on the side. I haven't opened the ball yet, I was going to wait until we were alone.

That time is now. I'm sitting in the Champion's room in the elite four building. All of my Pokémon were standing at attention, but this time, it was a very relaxed attention. I placed the ball in the palm of my hand and hurled it into the air. The ball opened and a sleek white figure landed on two feet facing away from me and my team. The second I saw the hair and dress, I knew exactly what it was Diantha had given me.

"Holy shit it's a Gardevoir." Is all I could say. My team responded with a chorus of their names, adding to my surprise. The figure turned and revealed a single red eye that showed from her hairline.

"**Diantha has a lot of faith in you." **Okay, play it cool Fletch.

"Okay… yeah I'm totally not going to act surprised at all. Like I can understand a Pokémon, totally everyday stuff." The Gardevoir laughed quietly before turning around.

"**Oh yeah." **She smiled. **"So, this is your team?" **She walked closer and looked at me. **"You seem nervous." **Yeah, I had every reason to be nervous. Do you have _any _idea how DANGEROUS one of these Pokémon can be? Let me put it into perspective. A human as a bad day right, they might punch a wall, crash their car, whatever. A _Gardevoir? _That thing will ruin your life by creating a black fucking hole. You know, like SPACE BLACK HOLE? But maybe I can avoid that.

"Okay okay okay, look here." She cocked her head sideways. "I'm nervous because I know Gardevoirs can ne clingy and tend to overestimate danger. So RULE ONE. NO. BLACK. HOLES." She timidly looked away.

"**Oh yeah… huh." **God what was it with Pokémon just being able to make you feel like a terrible person?

"I just… also know what can happen as a result." I admitted. "And I never want to lose something I love." She looked up suddenly. "Yes, I love you just as much as all my Pokémon… it's just creepier now that you are practically the same as a human with psychic powers. You know how it goes I'm sure." I clapped my hands together. "BUT. My name is Fletch, I am the stand-in Champion for the time being. And you are…?"

"**My last owner named me as a Ralts. My name was Caitlyn, but my friends," **She winked at me. **"…call me just Cait." **Smooth start, let's keep it rolling.

"So uh Cait, what's your favorite color?" My tone was starting to grow obvious that I was off tracking hard.

"**Light green, not to promote vanity or anything." **She smirked and mocked me, playful little Pokémon. **"So Fletch, have you ever kept a conversation going by forcing off-topic questions?" **Oh, cute. I rolled my eyes and grinned.

"Yeah…" we stared at each other for the longest time. This friendship wouldn't be boring at least. Cait smiled and gave me a light hug. "Whoa there, easy now."

"**What? Never been hugged by a girl before? Man I could feel your embarrassment while I was in the ball still. You're so timid around girls its adorable!" **So yeah. Pretty sad day it is when a Pokémon is telling you that you're shy around women. This one wasn't even human.

"Watch your contact Cait, I don't want to get arrested because I fused a Gardevoir to my body." She let go and laughed.

"**My, you're entertaining." **

"Yeah, likewise." Then I heard whirring sound come from the other end of the chamber and Siebold, the water type user of the elite four walked in. His look was terrifying. It did always seem his eyes were able to tear worlds apart.

"Fletch, I assume you are finding your chamber nice?" Oh hell yeah. Dude, there are like six windows that are about 5 stories high with massive golden curtains blowing in the breeze. Did I mention that the breeze in this room was godlike? It was a constant, perfect breeze. Not too hard, but soft and gentle.

"I am, Siebold." I confirmed. Then I saw he had a homework folder in his hand, and I immediately wanted to bolt. "What's that you have there?"

"Paperwork." He smiled. "Oh that look on your face!" He handed Cait the folder. "Just letting you know, I'll be in touch whenever we have a challenger running through the elite four. You got my phone number so we can just call each other, yeah?"

"Yeah man." I said with a smile. I liked Siebold though, hard-ass in battle, and a cool guy outside of battle. "So you got something for me? How about lunch, does Tony's sound good?" Siebold put his hands up and said nothing. That meant no, he doesn't want lunch. So he has something else for me. "Okay, so what else you got for me?" The guy looked up and seemed to pull a task out of thin air.

"Diantha wants to meet you outside. It sounded important. She didn't even give me the details. The only thing she requested is that you bring your Gardevoir over there." Siebold looked at Cait and back to me. "I bet she's going to show you Mega Evolution." WOOOOO!

"Oh, alright I'll be right down." I returned my Pokémon to their balls and kept Cait outside. Besides, nobody said I couldn't carry more than six, I just figured everyone else did it, why not me? "Cait, you ready?"

"**Of course, wouldn't want you to be late for your date." **This girl would never let me go.

"Oh you, you aren't going to let up are you?"

"**Nope." **She laughed, and she laughed hard. Again, at least this experience won't be boring and grey.


	2. Partners, Esuna

When I got outside, Diantha was speaking to a few men and a woman in a massive trench coat. The woman had black hair and an earpiece, looked like a stereotypical villain. I decided I should take part in this, since I'm honorary Champion-sit in.

"…a threat to what exactly?" Diantha even had to look up at speak to the lady. I mean the lady was REALLY tall.

"A threat to our way of life. You…" She had noticed I was standing next to Diantha.

"Who's this?" I was curious, since they obviously came unannounced. "Wow, you're tall." Cait followed him out and the two men looked at her with suspicion.

"I was just informing the champion here of a disease that is infecting Pokémon, particularly…" She pointed at Cait with her pen. "Psychic and fairy type Pokémon." Ohh, what was this disease? "You see, the disease has already spread to all other five regions, and now we have confirmed presence of it here in the Kalos region." I crossed my arms, well I needed to look tough didn't I?

"What does this disease look like? Anything of concern?" The other two people with her were holding a file that held pictures. One of the gentleman handed the folder to Diantha and she flipped through it carefully.

"Do be warned, these images are graphic. Also, congratulations on becoming the sit in for the Champion. As you will now hear that I need her assistance." One of the pictures caught my attention.

"Hold up a sec lady." I took the folder and looked at one of the pictures… what… what had happened to this Grovyle? His exterior was burned and I could see his bones through the flesh! "What… is this?" I normally don't cringe at anything, but this photo was mortifying!

"Horrifying isn't it?" The lady walked next to us. "That is what happens when a feral Pokémon gets infected with this affliction. They turn aggressive and attack humans at random." Then she looked at Caitlyn and smirked, the kind of smirk that gives you that bad feeling about a stranger. And here I am, with a stranger, and I have that feeling. "These Pokémon are all in the gene pool and they have the capability to infect others and their young while still alive… or feral. As such it is hard to find which ones are blending in…" The lady pulled out a syringe and grinned back at me. I clenched my fists in anticipation of what would come next. "…unless they are rooted out."

"Now stop." Diantha stepped in front of Caitlyn. "I haven't see any official proof that you are authorized to do _anything _here." The lady frowned and pulled out her badge. Diantha looked at it and sighed.

"Step aside. I'm with the international police, and I have the right to test this Gardevoir here for the gene." Diantha didn't stop her. I looked at Caitlyn and she was scared. I didn't confirm it, nor did I have evidence to confirm that she was scared. But no. Nobody, I mean NOBODY ever lays a finger on any of my Pokémon without my permission. As the lady advanced on her and took Caitlyn's arm. I did something a little rash.

"Don't you lay a finger on her!" I grabbed her arm and put my back against her torso. I pushed her over my back and slammed her onto the ground with force.

"FLETCH!" Diantha yelled. The two guards came to detain me, but Caitlyn put a wall that blew them backwards. She's a psychic type, and Gardevoir can use reflect and light screen. But… what was that? Wind. Yeah it's a wind wall. A wind wall?!

"Caitlyn?" I saw grey mist coming from her arms. She looked at me and shook her head.

"**Stay away from him!" **She yelled. **"He makes me feel normal! You won't take me from him!" **I saw a flash from the corner of my eye. I heard a gunshot and in a flash all this happened. Caitlyn was electrocuted, I got forced to the ground, and Diantha was cornered by a Rampardos. I saw Caitlyn resist the volts that continued to purge her body as she mouthed something.

_Don't… let them get me… _The lady was now standing over Caitlyn, now twitching on the ground.

"Yeah, shocking isn't it?" She then walked over to me and crouched down. "So, since you have possession of an infected one. Perhaps you can use your head a little more now. I'll give you two options now that I know two things. You can fight is one, and that little Gardevoir over here is a super Pokémon. So, will you join me, and spare Caitlyn the needless torture? Or would you prefer that I take her and leave you to live a normal life? Think about it hard, or you might just make the wrong choice." Two choices. One impacting move. Should I spare the Gardevoir I just met and trade in the life that I've known and loved? All that for a stranger? Or would I put her where she might belong, in a cage, far away from me and my lifestyle?

No. I knew what was right. No matter who it is, stranger or family member, they all deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. So… I guess my hands are tied.

"Alright lady." I looked up from the ground. "You got my hands tied so I'll just surrender. I'll join you then."

"Brave. Yes, yes, brave. Release him." I got up and cracked my back. Man those guys were strong. "So, you will come with me?" I sighed and nodded.

"Diantha, I'm going to have to uh… put myself on vacation." She just gave me a long look before pointing at me.

"Think about what you're leaving behind." I froze and looked at all the pokeballs on my belt. I took them off and tossed them to her.

"I'm not leaving it behind. I'm leaving it for now. Take of them will ya?" I took Caitlyn's pokeball and the lady stopped me.

"That's quite dangerous. I think she would be better in a cage." She recommended. Hell no, I'm keeping Cait with me.

"If you want my cooperation, I keep her." I returned Caitlyn to her pokeball and put it on my waist. "I intend to make her powers a force of good. Seeing as you hunt these Pokémon like the plague, have you considered the possibility of making these Pokémon good?"

"That'll do junior, that'll do."

* * *

(Undisclosed Location, 9:00 A.M. the next day.)

Fletch woke up on a hard bed and felt different from yesterday. He felt the surface he lay on and it was cold, cold and flat. He tried to get up but felt something tug his arms. He looked at saw grey fluid flowing into his bloodstream. His breath started to increase and his heart rate accelerated. Then a loudspeaker boomed.

_Heart of the human subject is in danger. _Fletch looked across the other side and saw Caitlyn also hooked up to the same tubes and machines he was. As he took a closer look, she too was awake and the liquid that was coming from her was being forced into his bloodstream!

"Hello! Hey! Caitlyn!" He yelled.

"**F-Fletch! They're making you… like me!"**

"Like you?!"

"**AHH!" **She screamed in pain. Fletch tried to get free, but something knocked him out to blackness.

* * *

(The previous night.)

"So, what made you change your mind?" The lady asked Fletch.

"Honestly, I'm in it to show you that no Pokémon, mutant or not, is capable of being molded into a good force." He leaned back in his seat. They were all in a helicopter.

"You want to know something else?" She leaned forward. "Humans can have that power too. The wind thing she did back there… we could make super soldiers with powers that _no _man or Pokémon could stop." She said in a sinister tone. "You see… it's a war we fight between normal people and Pokémon and these… monsters that roam the regions." Then she leaned forward. "And it is my job, as Commander Schwartz, to do what we must to win that war. You understand what I'm saying here?" Fletch looked at her and shivered.

"Yeah… but it sounds like… ha." He looked away and pointed. "You use monsters, or better yet, you CREATE the monsters to hunt the monsters. So in the greater scope of things…" She was displeased with his words. "…who's the monster actually? The monsters themselves? Or the monster hunters?" She stood up and crossed her arms.

"So, you seem to know what to say every time." She walked behind him and pulled out a stun pistol and loaded it. "Maybe I should make you into a monster hm?"

"Okay, okay, take it easy girl…" He faked a laugh. "A little violent don't you think?"

"Of course, you can use the powers you get for your own purpose. But I'd recommend using it for us, unless you want become the hunted." She began to squeeze the trigger.

"Hey isn't there like a permission sli-…"

_ZAP!_

(Present)

* * *

Fletch had passed out from something, probably pain is what Caitlyn assumed. She looked up and saw people in the observation room taking notes. They were all observing everything she did, from breathing to blinking. Then the machine's sound stopped and doors opened into the room. A few doctors came in and inspected Fletch's body and they all seemed relieved for a second. Then another doctor walked towards Caitlyn and was clearly not an ordinary scientist. Caitlyn waited for the man to get closer before noticing a black and red tail underneath his coat. He un-did her binding and whispered to her.

"_You need to get going, while you have a chance!" _

_Warning. Pokémon subject's restraints have been broken, repeat. Pokémon subject's restraints have been broken. _Many armed men stormed the room and the scientists fled. Caitlyn broke free of the tubes going into her arm, but started bleeding profusely from where she freed herself.

"We will fire on you!" One of the massive men with an equally massive gun yelled. Caitlyn felt the cold creeping up on her body and she knew what would happen if she just passed out.

"**I'm taking you ALL with me!" **She charged a strong blast in her core and released it, lifting light things into the air while dissolving into grey mist. Then she reappeared and spun around in mid-air, causing a strong current of wind to swirl in the room, lifting heavier things and the soldiers off their feet. As Caitlyn was about to unleash her full power, she looked at the unconscious Fletch and picked him up with a gentle gust of wind. She placed him on her back and she focused again on her attack. She slowly raised both arms and looked up to the sky and gave a loud battle cry before the wind made her go temporarily deaf. She did a mighty spin and thrust her right hand upward. The wind now became a lethal vortex that ripped the building apart all at once. She waited for the tornado to disperse before slowly landing on the rubble. She felt Fletch on her back and she wasn't sure why, but she knew he come here to spare her. How did she even know it? **"I-don't have long till I pass out." **Her body then absorbed some of the grey mist that comes with her power and her wounds closed. **"Good… but I still lost a lot of blood. Ugnn…" **She struggled to fly, but managed to use her strong hand as a thruster to keep them airborne. They were on an island facility, or what used to be an island facility. Now it was nothing but a sinking island. As a beach came into view she lost consciousness and both of them plummeted towards the water.

As the two hit the water, Fletch was forced awake by the sudden coldness on his body. He opened his eyes and saw Caitlyn slowly sinking underwater. He grabbed under her arm and gained a footing on the sand below him. He dragged her to the beach and keeled over onto the sand.

"Holy shit dude!" He looked at the water and his eyes had turned from blue to black. His skin had a weird marking on it too, like an artistic wind design. Then he looked back at the Gardevoir and rushed over. "Cait!" He shook her. "CAITLYN!" He touched her chest spike by accident and he lost his breath. White mist poured from his fingertips into Caitlyn's body. The color came back to Caitlyn's face as Fletch looked at his hands and backed away. Caitlyn's eyes shot open and she took a sudden, labored breath.

"**Fletch?!" **She saw the white mist lifting off of his hands. Fletch started to panic.

"No, she did it man she did it! Shit man she did it! I'm a monster, one of them!" Caitlyn felt his distress and hugged him lightly.

"**It's okay, you're okay… you're okay." **He shook his head, still distraught.

"No. No. I'm dead. I'm a dead man." He repeated.

"**Hey look at me." **Fletch looked up at her. **"You and I are the same. We both have this wind power now. I'll protect you, you got that? You are one of my kind, and I'll protect you until we die together. You got that?"**

"Okay! Okay." He started to calm down and shook in Caitlyn's embrace. "I'm cool… I'm cool." Caitlyn released him and stood up. Fletch looked at the mist coming out of his hands and mentally told it to stop, and it did.

**"I have a panic house around here. I have many of them around the world actually. Follow me and we can lay low for a while." **Fletch raised a finger.

"Wait… a Pokémon that owns houses?"

**"Don't be surprised if I'm stronger, faster, and smarter than you in every way. Yes, I have houses, what of it?" **She looked back and had a serious face. **"Come with me if you want to live. Stay here and die eventually if you want." **Then she used her hands to lift herself into the air and dissolve into grey mist. **"Get a running start and launch yourself into the air. Imagine swimming in water and you can fly around as a misty cloud."**Fletch looked at his hands and the mist poured out again. He dashed forward with speed and threw himself into the air, dissolving into mist.

"Whoa! Holy shit!" He flew wildly for a few seconds and stabilized. "This is… fucking strange!"

**"Well… get used to it man." **She flew to his side. **"Besides, you're right. This isn't a good thing. It's for sure a death sentence; I'm not going to lie." **She flew ahead and Fletch followed her to a secluded area outside the obviously familiar city of Lumiose. It was off the southern route so none could easily find it. **"To rematerialize fly to the ground and imagine hitting a trampoline." **Caitlyn reformed on the ground and watched Fletch slowly make his way to the ground. He reformed and stumbled a little on his feet.

"Whoa…whoa." Caitlyn snapped her fingers and a key appeared. She opened the door to a stairwell. All that was visible was a stone dome that housed the stairs.

**"Follow me in." **She looked back and motioned for Fletch to follow her in. Fletch looked around and followed her down the stairs. As he neared the end of the stairs, it was the best smelling hideout possible, he was sure of it. It smelled like a dryer sheet, but not really too strong, but not too weak.

"Look, why are you helping me Caitlyn? I'm a human, and you are a Pokémon. What possible benefit could you have with me." She looked back with a cold glare.

**"Absolutely nothing to gain. And my name is not Caitlyn. That's just my cover-up name. Also, you aren't a human anymore. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you will know why I am no longer a Pokémon." **She looked ahead and formed another key. **"Don't mistake me for a Pokémon. I'm far from one." **She opened the door and they walked into what looked like a kitchen. Further in he could see her bedroom and a living room of some sort. There was also a closed door that she led him to. **"You don't mind if I test you for something?" **Fletch looked at her with distaste. She knew she needed to explain further. **"Okay, look here." **She shot a strong wind blast at the roof and it made a big shockwave, but didn't damage anything. **"See what I just did there? That is my specialty with my power. You don't know it… but remember that facility we were in? Well… I summoned a twister and leveled it completely. That is destruction specialty. It is the one I chose to use, since I'm always alone. There is one specialty you are made with. If you were given my blood, which you were, you are probably the same. Another part is largely dependent of your personality. But it's far too early in your development to be anything else." **To Fletch, this sounded like a video game, and it probably was.

"So… what else is there other than destruction?" She opened the room and guided him in.

**"There are a few main types, and other less common types."**

"Wait, less common? Just how many are there?!"

**"Well wind power is rare, I'd guess there are only a few wind monsters." **Fletch sat in the chair and Caitlyn hooked him up to a machine. She sat in another chair and hooked herself up to it.

"How are you this smart? You're a Pokémon." She looked at him with anger again.

**"I am NOT a Pokémon anymore, understood?" **Fletch swore to himself and shut up. **"Now, let's see what your power holds." **The image that came to his head was red mist.

"There is a lot of red in my eyes."

**"Yeah, you're seeing my power. Red mist is a symbolic image, meaning how my aura looks. With the red mist, I symbolize destructive forces of wind." **Fletch fell silent. **"Scares you, doesn't it?" **Fletch looked away and mentally swore.

"Living with a walking tornado isn't exactly conducive to my health and well-being." Caitlyn hummed to herself. "So, what do you see?"

**"I'm mostly right. I see a decent amount of red, mostly destruction like me. However, I see a good amount of green and also a tiny amount of blue. Wow… blue is a very rare color I see often." **

"What's blue mean? Is it like… water or electric?"

**"No, ice. It means you have the potential to utilize cold air power, like an ice type Pokémon for example. Green is also an uncommon one, it possesses the healing and soothing properties of wind." **Fletch liked the sound of that. Fletch paid attention to her picture again and saw some green. **"So… maybe if you don't want destruction, I can train you to be a healing wind user. Be warned though, you will lose some combat potency if you leave destruction behind." **

"All due respect, I'm not a destructive person. Besides, if I'm going out there, I'd probably be with you, yeah?" She looked up and shrugged.

**"So, what's your plan now, after I teach you to fight and stuff?" **Fletch looked up too and sighed.

"I can't possibly believe what the lady told me. You cannot ALL be terrible individuals. Look at you, you saved me without reason." She was silent and laughed a little.

**"So, the hero of the video game has arrived? Sounds like I got me a partner then?" **She stood up and freed Fletch.

"So it's a deal then Cait, partners?" Fletch extended his hand.

**"You know, my name really isn't Caitlyn." **Fletch frowned, curiously. **"Real name's Esuna."**

"Pretty name for a tornado-making badass like yourself. My name's actually Fletch, actually, not kidding."

**"I didn't think you were. So, partners then, Fletch." **He smiled and shook her hand.

"Partners, Esuna."


	3. Race of One

**Next part is here. This story will be way shorter than my other ones because this is a "break" story, or a story I made as a break from writing my other stories. Thanks for reading!**

A week has passed since I decided to be partners with Caitlyn… er Esuna. I have come to the conclusion that Esuna still isn't being straight with me. I'll put it in perspective, she has computers, monitors, and machines. In short, she is smarter than any human I've ever seen, meaning there is something she isn't telling me. Where the hell did she get these things and the knowledge to use them like she does. Just the other day I saw her looking at pictures on a computer in her room, but I couldn't see what. When she saw me, she blew me against the wall and slammed the door. She hasn't talked to me since, even when she was training me. That was probably the scariest part.

You see, since I'm trying to become more of a healer or "mistweaver" is what we are calling my specialty. And yeah, we took that from uh… somewhere else. Anyway, how she's training me is by lightly hurting herself and I'd heal her with different wind techniques. But last time, the day after I caught her that night, she really hurt herself. Like she looked at me and shook her head with a death gaze that made me back away. She made some sort of wind lance and impaled herself, deliberately, and pretty much killed herself outright.

In a panic, I had to use all the energy I had to heal her wounds. As she regained consciousness, I had a feeling she did this because I saw her looking at pictures on her computer. So I asked her about it and told her I was sorry for ever poking around where I shouldn't have been. Then she just looked at me and got up. Then she looked back with a frown and she said…

"**You don't want to know what I was looking at, Fletch." **Then she went to bed. But at least I picked up a new trick. When she fell down after hurting herself, I did normal healing, but I accidentally took a misstep and made a green vortex and made me feel good as well. I'm guessing that's some sort of area healing.

* * *

(A Week Later- Esuna's hideout)

Fletch was making breakfast, eggs and toast mainly. To him, he still wondered how she had managed to live just like a human, and for how long? Then a half drowsy half awake Esuna stumbled into view.

"Morning Esuna." He said passively. "You feeling alright?" She said nothing and sat down at the table. Fletch looked at her for a while before sighing. As he kept at cooking, Esuna shut her eyes and sighed back.

"**Morning…" **Fletch smiled to himself, finally she talked.

"About what you said… that I don't want to know what you were looking at. Was it er… X rated?"

"**Are you retarded?" **She asked with a small blush.

"No no no! I'm just wondering what made you… say something like that. It was something I didn't want to know about… what? You?" Fletch set her plate in front of her and gave her some food.

"**Thanks by the way."**

"For?" Fletch sat down and started eating, avoiding eye contact with Esuna. "The eye color?" He pointed at his now green eyes. "Yeah it's new."

"**Healing me after my breakdown. If you weren't here, I would've died." **Fletch stopped chewing and looked at her finally. **"Oh yeah, your eyes are green now. I like them." **

"Yeah well, next time you do that, tell me in advance." He stood up and looked at the ceiling. "Do you have _any _idea how fucking scary that shit was?" Esuna looked down and frowned. "I have no idea if you were still aware long enough to even see the blood gushing from your chest. I'll tell you, it was like a water fountain shooting blood into the air. Picture that for a second." She shut her eyes. "You were lucky that you scared me enough for me to develop a new technique."

"**You developed a new trick?" **Fletch nodded and threw his hand in the air, making a light green mist shower that made both of them feel nice.

"So you were out the second you hit yourself." Esuna wiped a tear from her eye and Fletch groaned. "Look, forget it."

"**I'm sorry." **Fletch didn't hear her.

"What?"

"**I said I'm sorry!" **She composed herself. **"I've done that in the past just… never that hard before." **Fletch opened his mouth to say something and lost his words.

"So… what were you looking at?" He probed. She looked up and stood with a serious face.

"**Think about it hard enough. You'll make a conclusion eventually."**

"Conclusion?" She brushed past him. "You can't just tell me?" She shook her head.

"**I don't have the heart to do it." **She shivered and looked back at him. **"So uh, wanna do some training?" **Fletch watched her sway from foot to foot. **"Or maybe you can show me what you developed?" **

"Will it take your mind off things?" She blushed and jumped.

"**What? Oh, yeah I guess. Let's uh… go." **

The two entered their practice room and took their positions. Fletch took a deep breath and made green mist leak from his hands and arms. He made a small circle in the air and made a little green halo. He smiled at it before absorbing it into his hand.

"Ready?" She nodded and frowned before getting ready to hurt herself. She threw herself into the air and let herself fall hard on the floor. She cried quietly and couldn't get up. Fletch felt her pain, oddly, and made a wide circle with his hand to create the green vortex. Then he did something on instinct. He made himself into green mist and materialized himself mid-flight. He lowered himself and used his right hand. He imagined he was pulling her up. Green mist infused her body and she was lifted up and stood once more. "Whoa!"

"**That was incredible!" **Fletch smiled then frowned.

"Look, Esuna I need to ask something."

"**What is it?" **She frowned.

"Well…I don't want you hurting yourself anymore. It puts me through mental hell to watch my best friend do that to themselves." Fletch chose his words daringly. "I can't let you almost kill yourself every time." She stood there and suddenly covered her face. "What?" Then it hit him. "Oh ho!" He smirked and poked her playfully. "You like me."

"**S-Shut up!" **She turned into a red mist and flew out of the room.

"Yo Esuna wait!" Fletch turned into green mist and saw her materialize in her room before she shut the door with a slam. "Okay, Esuna I'm sorry. Just, seriously I mean it. I don't want my friends to get hurt, or better yet hurt themselves."

"**J-just leave me alone for a while…" **Fletch swore at himself and heard an explosion above them, but distant. He rushed outside and saw a giant turbofan aircraft fly overhead. Curious, Fletch shut the door and transformed into green mist and followed the aircraft into Lumiose city.

Fletch looked at the streets of Lumiose and was disgusted. Where people and Pokémon once roamed freely, there were soldiers now herding civilian masses into buildings. It was an occupation.

"What the hell is this?" Then there was an alarm and the aircraft turned back and stopped above Esuna's place. Fletch narrowed his eyes and saw something that made him panic. Three soldiers were dragging a beaten Gardevoir out towards a truck. Fletch saw about 20 soldiers and two of the aircraft hovering over the area.

_If I can heal her… then maybe we can fight them! _He rushed to the ground and materialized, shocking everyone. Fletch sent a non-lethal breeze to knock all the soldiers off their feet. He used his new trick to rise Esuna and she saw him and smiled. Then she saw everyone else and looked back at Fletch.

"**Only one way." **She said before sending a lethal shockwave that sent half the group of soldiers flying into the air. Fletch saw an opportunity and leapt into the middle of the airborne group. He made a green wind lance and slashed the air in front of him, sending them all plummeting to the ground. Fletch made sure their fall was broken so none of them would die, but rather be held down by a small wind tunnel above each of their bodies to keep them down.

"You're done." He said with a smirk. "Hey Esuna, you doing alright?" Then he heard twisting metal and looked up. One aircraft exploded and one started spinning towards the ground. Fletch saw it coming towards him. He made himself into mist and flew into the air to dodge the crash. As the smoke cleared, he heard the screams of twenty soldiers. Esuna reformed on the ground and Fletch reformed next to him.

"**They all deserved it." **She had no shine in her eyes.

"Esuna?" She snapped back into reality and looked around.

"**Oh god! They're all dead! Fletch, heal them!" **Fletch nodded and made a green swirl of healing wind. Fletch shut his eyes and imagined a green flash. He levitated into the air and spun around before transforming into a green phoenix. **"…wow." **He flew up into the sky and roared. Esuna could see his physical form in the heart of the wind bird. The bird crashed into the ground and a green light blinded Esuna. All those that died took a sudden breath and coughed violently as the life all came back to them. Fletch reformed next to Esuna and he smiled.

"That… was… AWESOME!"

"…**oh yeah it was." **She looked around and sighed. **"Follow me to the next hideout." **Fletch tapped her shoulder and she stopped walking. **"What?"**

"Just hang on for a second Esuna." He ran in front of her. "Just what are you planning to do, running from hideout to hideout?" Esuna looked away and waved her hand to teleport them away. They appeared in a new hideout, almost identical to the one before. "So… just run 'till you drop, that's the plan?" She sighed and shook her head.

"**I have a plan, but we need to find something first. And I'll need your help." **She said honestly.

"My help?" He laughed. "If you want my help, you'll need to tell me a little bit of that 'plan' of yours." She sighed and turned towards Fletch.

"**I'm sorry for keeping this from you…" **She sighed and held her head. **"But you've proven that you are trustworthy, so here it is." **She looked him dead in the eyes. **"When I told you not to call me a Pokémon, well it was the truth. But there are two sides to that, you never called me a human and rightfully so." **Fletch was confused. **"I used to be like you. An adventurer, a trainer, but then many things happened to me, now I'm neither Pokémon nor human…" **She closed her eyes. **"I am a race of one." **


	4. Race of One pt 2

**Short chapter I forgot to release yesterday. Also, I've decided I'll make this a little longer. On that note, if you'd like, tell me your favorite element, form of matter, or anything up that road in a review or PM. I'll see if I can make other's powers like your suggestions. Thanks!**

"What do you mean 'race of one' Esuna?" That's what he asked truth, what would I expect from him? He is strong, caring, and friendly, but also quite naïve. I conclude this thought because hasn't anyone noticed that this person came and accepted me and my powers without question?

Well what am I thinking? I do need to give the boy some credit. He's learned so much from me, gained more power because of me, and has been safe, mainly because of me.

_Of course!_

What I just said in my head? That's the main difference between us. I am used to relying on myself, and that's just my mental structure. He, he was a skilled Pokémon trainer that once believed strength alone was enough to beat the toughest of foes. Now, I see someone who relies on his friends now to survive.

Also… I should've died when those soldiers got me. But for some reason he came back, and because of him we both made it out alive. Perhaps my former self isn't so far away after all. But not yet… I cannot leave him just yet. I need him for something and once that something is achieved, I'll never see him again… but is that really the right thing to do?

* * *

"**Fletch, you remember those pictures you saw me looking at?" **He looked away and nodded. **"You are never going to believe what I'm about to say." **Fletch up a hand on her head and gently rubbed it. At first, Esuna wanted to throw him as far as possible, but eventually nuzzled his hand. **"Oh!" **She collected herself again.

"Out with it Esuna, what is it that bugs you so much? I want to fix it." Esuna was caught. Fletch gave her a look of endearment, catching her totally.

"**I used to be a human." **She looked away and let it sink in. **"When I was a trainer, just about your age, one of my Pokémon got infected with this virus. It gave him a power that none could comprehend. For example, it was a Bisharp… with the power to use ice. I thought it was badass, really." **She got free of his look and started to pace, hands behind her back. **"Then one day the police came and said that my Bisharp was needed for global issues. They took him with the fake promise that he would be returned." **Esuna gave him a sharp look. **"Do I need to say what happened?" **

"It's implied so no." He was honest.

"**Shortly after, by powers came as a huge shock. I remember I dropped an expensive coin under a bench. When h couldn't reach it, I accidentally made a gust of wind in front of many people in a park. So I ran after releasing each of my Pokémon. That was the hardest thing I had to do in my twisted life." **She frowned. **"Then I ran into this Ninetails. If you know anything about them, it's that they can turn humans into Pokémon. This one was different though. This Ninetails promised to put an end to my suffering."**

"And he turned you into a Pokémon?"

"**Right." **She made a hand gesture. **"I was certain it would strip me of my wind powers, but I was wrong. So I no longer considered myself human, as I was not. And I do not consider myself a Pokémon, because I am not." **Esuna looked at him. **"Then Diantha found me and saw my powers. She also saw and felt how much suffering I've gone through. After enough counseling I was able to repress my powers unless I forced myself to use them. I had been with many trainers because of Diantha, and she rarely lets trainers use me. Even so, I always get sent back to her because I simply am never in sync with my trainer. Then you came along, and you felt different." **

"Oh yeah?"

"**Oh definitely!" **She gave a dark smile. **"You were probably one of the most self-absorbed trainers I've ever seen walk in there. But that wasn't all that I saw in you. I saw so much potential, I gave Diantha every possible sign that I wanted to at least spend a day with you. Turned out, that one day has us as partners-in-crime." **Esuna put her hands around his neck. **"You've changed in such a small time too. You are different, and I think that's wonderful. That's why I'm asking for your help to reclaim one of what I used to be." **She walked towards a window.

"Uhh… okay now you lost me." She turned and smiled.

"**I either find the Ninetails, reverse the curse forever. Or I clear my name and stay a Pokémon!" **Fletch shook his head and steeled himself.

"So you got it all wrong Esuna." He said before hugging her. "I care about you, and I want you to be happy. But I know for sure doing any of those things will not bring you happiness. Look I could be a downer too, but I'm not. I'm okay with what you are, just as I am okay with what I am. I'm still a human, I just got happy dust coming out of my hands. And you are a… beautiful Gardevoir, Esuna. You just happen to have… destructive wind coming out of your hands."

"**Whaa…" **She froze and her entire face turned pink. **"What was that?! A proposal!?" **Fletch laughed and kept their hug tight.

"Sort of." He admitted. "The Caitlyn I met back in the Pokémon League, I loved her from the first glimpse I got from her. Cheerful, caring, and obviously, fucking though when it matters!" They both laughed. "She is nothing compared to the Esuna I know now." He sighed. "Okay how about this. We forget this entire thing about 'redemption' or 'reclaiming my humanity' business. We can't be the only two that are out here. There are probably hundreds of Pokémon and maybe even humans like us. Not monsters, Pokémon and people." He looked directly into her red eyes. "Just like you." Esuna pulled away softly and blushed heavily.

"**Oh imagine this. I'm a Pokémon, but my human side is falling for you. Ain't that something?" **Fletch started laughing louder.

"Well what's wrong with that?" Esuna hid her face and giggled. "So what do ya say? We get out there, act all normal and help the world become a better place, and become heroes." He offered his hand to Esuna who gave him a sweet look. She then hugged him suddenly. "Oh… whoa there."

"**You really are a rare individual, you know that? It isn't every day a half Pokémon half human runs into someone like you. I'm glad I saved us both from that awful lab." **

"And I'm glad I came back to heal you in time." Esuna gave him a gentle kiss that they held for a minute. When their lips parted Esuna smirked.

"**You should see the look on your face." **Fletch giggled.

"I never thought I'd love a Pokémon. Much less make-out with one." This made Esuna laugh.

"**Well at least it was a Gardevoir and not a Muk, right?" **He nodded.

"Right you are Esuna… right you are." He released her and walked towards the stairs. "Come on, let's get started." Esuna moved in front of him.

"**This is a two-part mission. Before we start doing anything, we need to know how and where to look. I need you back here on the computers listening in on communications and looking for any odd activity." **Fletch smiled and shrugged.

"Fine, but what if you get hurt?" She smiled and gave him a light punch.

"**Then come save me!" **With that she vanished and their mission had started.


	5. Flower in a Garden of Thorns

**So the first power up: Nature. I'm still looking for more suggestions. I only have a few powers in mind, so if you have an idea, let me know.**

(Next day)

Esuna was the one chosen to be outside the hideout, since her powers can be used for personal defense and offense. Fletch was the one that would stay at the hideout and track information about apparent supernatural Pokémon and humans. Through Esuna's amplified powers, her psychic powers had been strengthened in addition to her wind power. With her psychic power, the two were able to keep a mental link.

"**Morning Fletch." **She said with a smile before walking out from an alleyway onto South Boulevard.

"_Morning. Sleep well?"_

"**Heh, not without you." **She laughed. **"So, any luck finding someone?" **

"_Actually, yes. I've listened in on the police communications, and I've heard that those military guys are patrolling the city for people and Pokémon, mainly us. Good news is that you look just like a normal Gardevoir, so you could blend in." _

"**Sweet. So what's up around the city?" **She heard typing and Fletch cleared his throat.

"_Okay. This one is another Pokémon, a Lopunny that has a rap sheet two miles long. Her alias is 'Leafiea' and she posses a plant like power. It sounds like she can mess with the powers of nature. She hasn't killed any civilians, but has stolen millions of dollars in drugs away from gangs. While to us this sounds harmless, and actually positive, seemed the army guys caught her."_

"**What?" **Esuna was alarmed.

"_Radio's going crazy, I'll get back to you. Just head for Prism Tower, the military has it all locked down. Just get eyes on it from a safe distance." _

"**I am on my way." **

(Fletch's POV)

Fletch turned dials to different channels and listened until the static became voices, heavy voices with sharp tones.

_Oh shit, here it is. _

"The entire group was obliterated. They were all brutally killed by those two monsters. Then one of them somehow made them all incapable of moving."

"Weren't they dead anyway?"

"No."

"Enough of this!" Another voice broke through. "We've caught one of these monsters and have it cornered within Prism Tower. Subject's codename is 'Natura' and she resides on the top."

_Top got it. _

"Any luck with the Gym Leader talking her down?"

"No. He's given it all he's got, but now he dodging thorns left and right. I'm worried he might die, honestly."

"Then there is no choice, unless some brave soul comes along, we are going to force her out."

"Roger, we will send the teams in ASAP."

_Brave soul? Maybe a Non-Violent approach is possible?_

"Esuna?" Esuna took a bit out of an apple and was sitting on a nearby rooftop looking over Prism Tower.

"**You know the view from up here is as good as you make it. I always wondered what the top of the tower looked like." **

"I got something on our girl. Their calling her 'Natura' and the gym leader is in the tower trying to talk her down." Esuna hummed and stood up. "I'm coming there too. We need to try a simple approach."

"**Oh, coming to assist a girl with her mission?" **

"We might not need to fight these guys. They seem like they actually have minds. Hang on."

"**Hurry up or I might go in without you." **Esuna saw a cloud of green mist materialize next to her. **"Wow. That's 'hurrying up' in my book." **Fletch smiled and looked down on the gathering crowd.

"Well that Lopunny's giving them one hell of a beat down." Fletch laid eyes on green vines covering the entrance. Then the crowds were ordered back and demolition teams attempted to blow the vines away. Each time they destroyed the vines, more grew in their place, and thicker too. "So bear with me on this plan."

"**Shoot." **

"Since the public is around, we can't just bust through those army guys down there. So honestly, this is my last peace offering. I'm going to walk up to them and tell them to let us handle it." Esuna looked at the guns the soldiers held and shivered.

"**Right…" **

"If they back off and we save him, the public will know we do not harbor ill-will. If they don't… we still save him, but with force against the soldiers. Got it?"

"**Fine, I'll be ready to fight." **Fletch smiled.

"Just, don't strike first, let them attack first and be ready to defend yourself…" His look turned serious. "And be ready to defend the bystanders. They are innocent." Esuna gave him a friendly look. "We aren't terrible people… and Pokémon." He smiled.

"**After you." **Fletch jumped down and his feet hit the ground. The two made their way through the crowd and they reached the barricades. The two leapt over and the crowd watched them approach the firing squad that noticed they had come too close.

"HEY! STAND BACK!" Then the squad all turned their heads. "Wait… aren't you…?"

"Yes. We are the same duo that just routed your unit earlier… and we can do that right here." They all pointed their guns at them. "But we can settle this without any violence." The largest one, obviously the leader.

"Speak." He had a heavy voice.

"We can talk that Pokémon down and bring her away from the public. If you can blast the vines one more time, we can dive through and get to the top and save that gym leader." The soldier gave a quizzical look.

"Now why would a pair of monsters like yourselves want to help us?"

"**Because it's ignorant to believe that **_**all **_**of us want to kill and take. Please, stand aside and let us do the right thing." **The soldier looked at this squad mates.

"Stand back and get ready." Fletch took a sigh of relief. "On three. One, two three!" The soldiers fired another round of explosives and made a small hole.

"Now!" The pair dashed through the opening and made it into the tower before the vines closed behind them once more. They looked back and smiled at each other. "Told you they weren't robots."

"**I never said they were. They just don't get along with me." **She looked towards the elevator that was blocked with vines too. **"Guess punching our way through won't work."**

"Unlikely." Fletch confirmed. "Well, looks like we need to find a staircase. But if I remember correctly, there is no stair case in this gym." Esuna sighed and looked around.

"**Yeah, there has GOT to be another way." **Fletch and Esuna looked for three minutes until Fletch complained about the cold.

"Man, do they live in a freezer 24/7 all the time?" He asked himself. Esuna looked up and saw a vent he was standing under.

"**Probably not, follow my lead, and hang on tight." **She jumped and went into the vent like air.

"What the hell?!"

"**Told you, come on." **He heard her barely. He transformed and found himself flying through a narrow tunnel and then coming out at the observation deck and reforming. Esuna was leaning over the edge, admiring the view. **"Okay I take it back, this view is just… amazing." **

"Yeah, it is." He leaned over too. "But how about we help that gym leader out before sightseeing, yeah?" She nodded and looked up and then saw an explosion. Fletch narrowed his eyes and he saw someone had gotten blown off the top of the tower. "He's going to die from that high!"

"**You get him, I'll stop that Lopunny!" **He jumped off and transformed into mist, meeting the person in mid-fall. Fletch realized he had caught a boy with yellow hair and glasses. He looked pretty beat up.

"Please… save my Pokémon from…" The boy passed out as Fletch slowly touched the ground.

"Get a paramedic or something, he's pretty beat up." Fletch yelled to the soldiers. The largest soldier ran up and took the boy from Fletch's arms.

"We got it from here. Where's your friend?" He asked.

"She's… going to stop that Pokémon. I hope."

Meanwhile, Esuna was flying through another vent and launched into the air at the top of the tower. She landed on her feet and saw a Heliolisk knocked out on the ground. She saw a higher level and leapt up to get higher. Then she saw it.

"**Lopunny." **The bunny Pokémon with long ears turned her head, clinching her fists.

"Are you here to arrest me? Are you one of their robots?" Esuna recoiled, surprised at she could speak.

"**You can talk?!" **The Lopunny approached her with a feral look in her eyes.

"Are you that ignorant?!" She screamed at her before her palms started glowing green. "With this virus, we become like them, the humans. We get speech and… amplified feelings of fear. Everyone is so ignorant. Do they seriously believe, that all those Pokémon that are on the run and or in a cage or better, dead, were seriously the start of the disease?" Esuna took a step back and made mist fall from her hands. "No… once we get this disease, we become them… So it was the trainer of the fucking Bisharp that's cursed this entire planet!"

A large thicket of vines sprawled across the floor. Esuna leapt into the air and charged a mist blast in her right arm. She shot a missile that met a sudden wall of vines. Esuna felt the Lopunny grab her hand. The Lopunny threw her to the ground and summoned vines around Esuna's neck, attempting to choke her. Esuna quickly dispersed into mist and reformed on top of the Lopunny. She sent a wind-infused drop kick towards the Lopunny that made contact with her skull. The Lopunny went unconscious for a split second but regained her bearings.

"You've crossed the line!" She leapt up and levitated with an emerald green energy coursing around her. "DO NOT DEFY NATURE!" Esuna looked up and saw thousands of thorns coming towards her. She got hit by many of them all at once and felt to her knees, stunned for a second.

Then the Lopunny acted quickly and summoned thorny vines to throw her into the air. Esuna saw the tip of the plant and knew if she landed on that, it would pierce her stomach and it would be a long, painful death. Then she realized how high she was and used her hands like thrusters to keep herself hovering.

"**I agree." **She said with a dark tone. **"Don't defy nature, right." **She spun around rapidly and created a massive vortex of red mist and heavy wind. The Lopunny tried to root herself into the ground, but the wind snapped her roots and threw her into the vortex. Esuna kept her right hand making circles in the air. Then she made a fist and propelled herself up with the tornado and threw herself up thousands of feet. She paused for a second and saw the top of Prism Tower, nothing more than a small dot. **"There is no other way, I'm sorry." **She said to herself, hoping the Lopunny could hear. She forged a wind lance and grasped it with both hands. She put her head between her body and the top of the tower shot herself back. **"Here a little microburst! RAGH!" **She made contact with the airborne Lopunny and slammed her into the ground.

Esuna heard a loud crack from the Pokémon's arm before she was launched back into the air. Esuna absorbed the vortex and saw the Lopunny fall of the side of the tower. She swore to herself and ran over to see her hanging precariously from the edge. Her arm was broken and her good arm was all that kept her from death.

"Do it." She gritted her teeth through pain. "Finish it." Esuna wiped some sweat from her forehead and looked beyond to see Fletch looking up, waiting for something to happen.

"_**Hey Fletch?"**_She communicated through telepathy.

"_Esuna?! Oh thank god, that isn't you hanging on the edge?" _

"_**Nope, I wouldn't lose to her. Say, feel like being a hero?"**_

"_What do you mean?" _Esuna put her leg on the Lopunny's hand.

"_**She's given me enough trouble. She's going to take the express way down." **_

"_Express way…? Wait."_

"_**CATCH!" **_She gave the Lopunny's good hand a savage kick and the Lopunny screamed as her plummet increased. _**"She's pretty. You shouldn't have an issue catching pretty girls, right?"**_

"_OH MY GOD!" _

Fletch flew up and met the Lopunny a couple feet from the ground. The Lopunny had passed out from fear as Fletch landed softly on the ground. Soon after, Esuna reformed next to him.

"**See, I knew you would catch her." **She observed the fainted Lopunny.

"Alright, hand her over." The leader of the soldiers ordered, handgun drawn.

"Seriously?" Fletch groaned. Esuna wasted no time on knocking all the soldiers off their feet. She concentrated for a second and they teleported back to one of the hideouts. Esuna took a breath and leaned against the wall.

"**Put her on my bed." **She panted. Fletch rushed into her bedroom and lay the injured Pokémon on the soft bed.

"I'm going to need some time to heal her." Fletch said, poking his head out of the doorway. Then he saw her panting heavily as well. "Oh." He knelt beside her. "You got hit?"

"**No, I'm just fucking tired." **She said with a tired, sharp voice.

"Well… where are you gonna rest."

"**Carry me to the couch, man I really exerted myself against her." **Fletch shrugged and carried her on his shoulders to the couch. He set her down and Esuna stretched and got comfortable.

"Hey." Fletch knelt beside her and conjured a small emerald sphere that blew a gentle, green wind around Esuna's body. "I'm very proud of your fighting today. You even brought her back with slight injury."

"**Oh it was nothing." **She felt the cooling mist.

"You know, I've never seen you like this." Esuna opened one eye and gave him a questioning look. "You're always hard as nails, super woman/Pokémon. It actually kind of charming when you get exhausted from fighting like this."

"**Oh, don't make me blush." **She shut her eyes tightly.

"Well, I guess I'll let you rest for the rest of the day. You've more than earned it. I'll take care of dinner and Leafiea." He gave her a light kiss on the forehead and walked away. Little did he know how pink Esuna's face really was.

Fletch walked into the Lopunny's room and swirled his hands softly to make a calming misty shower for emerald green wind. After he was satisfied with its shape and direction, he let it run its course. This wind power would last at least a few days or until Fletch stopped it. The mist would gradually borrow some of her latent energy to completely heal her arm within a few hours to a day. He really didn't know when it would finish.

Then he noticed something white and sharp in her ear fur. He squinted and it had a small glare coming from it. He looked at the sleeping Lopunny's face and made sure she was asleep. Carefully, he pulled the item out and it was a picture. After he had removed it, the Lopunny stirred in its sleep.

"N-no… don't take her from me…" She was sleep talking.

_Is she responding to my actions in her sleep? Creepy._

Fletch looked at the picture. It was a picture of a pretty Lopunny next to a small girl. The two were hugging and it appeared they were at a carnival of some sort. Then Fletch recognized one of the signs in the picture. This was the Lumiose Lights Festival that happened every summer in July. The Lopunny had a smile that just shouted happiness, and the girl had a matching smile.

_Oh damn. _

Fletch made the connection that made him feel pity on both the girl in the picture and the Lopunny.

_This… this was her trainer, or at least her human owner._

He looked at the Lopunny with a frown. He gently stroked it's ears and it shivered at his touch.

_And I bet the virus hit her and something, could've been many things, happened to where this picture is the only thing she has left. That's why she doesn't want me taking it from her. _

Now aware of this Pokémon's situation, he put the picture back into the Lopunny's ear. He stood up and walked out of the room. Then he went to the kitchen to start his business.

(The next morning)

Fletch was the only one that ate last night. Esuna was still sound asleep the next morning. Fletch poked his head into the Lopunny's room and she was also still asleep. The mist was still gently moving in a circular motion. Fletch never knew how pretty Esuna's room was. It wasn't just a room that had white walls and a bed. There was even a dresser and a mirror with purple walls. To Fletch, it looked like a child's bedroom, but still pretty and not too childish.

Fletch observed the Lopunny's wounds. The broken bone reformed and was now regaining functionality; that would take a few more hours at least. Fletch left the room and started eating again.

After he had finished, he left the hideout and carefully made sure nobody was around before walking into the city. He walked towards the tower and noticed a group of people huddled around a T.V. store. The news was on.

"_Now we bring you wind, vines, and movie worthy action?" _The news reporter sounded interested.

"_Just last night, a Pokémon that was infected with the virus scaled Lumiose's iconic Prism tower where a long fight between the Gym Leader, Clemont and a Lopunny with plant powers began. The Gym Leader says he was defeated, but a Gardevoir bearing what he called a 'Wind-Like Power' came to his aid. The Gym Leader gave his testimony in the hospital last night, here it is."_

The T.V. showed the young Gym Leader in a hospital bed, surrounded by cameras.

"_It was wild." _He began. _"I was about to pass out when a Gardevoir came and stood over me. I didn't care about her intentions, I just asked her to keep my Pokémon safe from the Lopunny I had battled. Then she leapt up to where I had cornered the wild Pokémon, and the two began to fight each other." _Then the reported threw questions at him. _"You in the red shirt." _

"_Mr. Clemont, how is it that a Gardevoir saw you? How did it follow you to the roof?" _

"_My best guess? She flew up to me. I told you, she had some sort of wind power that she used to defeat the Lopunny. It was insane, the Gardevoir nearly died multiple times, but triumphed in the end." _

"_Did you believe that Gardevoir was good?" _Another reporter then bashed his question.

"_All of them are monsters! None of them could've possibly done that with the best intentions!" _

"_False!" _The boy yelled at the reporter. _"My little sister, Bonnie told me everything that happened from the ground. The Lopunny fell of the tower and a HUMAN flew up and saved the Lopunny from certain death." _

"_I also heard that they attacked the soldiers outright!" _The reporter threw back.

"_Because they apparently demanded that they hand over the Lopunny! To add to that, they pointed their guns at them. Even so, none of the soldiers were attacked, they were just distracted so the three of them could escape, NON-VIOLENTLY." _

"_How do you know?! It was all your little sister!"_

"_She knows what happened, as anyone there!" _Then he looked at the camera. _"Know this, there are at least two of these so-called 'monsters' out there fighting for good. You better believe there are two sides in this 'Monster War' and accept it. It is ignorance like this that will get many more Pokémon and people hurt or worse, killed in this dispute!" _The screen changed to another reporter.

"_Well you heard it here first. There are two sides in this apparently." _Fletch noticed people looking at him funny.

"Hey… you were the guy that caught that falling Pokémon!" One girl commented.

"Yeah! It's him!" One guy jumped.

"We love you!" A woman said.

"We knew!" Another said. Fletch looked at them all and smiled.

"Y-yeah, thanks everybody!" He responded.

"Your girlfriend's hot!" A man shouted. Fletch turned red.

"W-what the Gardevoir?! Oh no it's not like that, really!"

(Later)

Fletch had picked up a paper with the headline "Two Sides, One Problem!" and saw the Esuna had woken up. She looked up and smiled.

"**Hey Fletch." **She had remembered his little kiss. **"What's that you got there?" **Fletch tossed the paper at her and smiled.

"Read." Curious, she read it and her eyes widened when she read Clemont's part.

"**Wow, so that kid stuck up for us huh?" **Fletch smiled.

"I'd know that when they choose their leaders for the Pokémon league, each one has a personality and a brain to back it up. He's got a lot of credit." Fletch then handed her a bag of shiny silver cookies.

"**OH!" **She jumped up and gave Fletch a tight hug. **"Oh these are my favorite! How did you know?" **Fletch smiled and scratched his head.

"Well I can't take all the credit. People on the streets say they've seen you eat these many times." She became confused.

"**How do they know what I like?" **She asked out of curiosity.

"There are so many people and Pokémon that love us on the streets. No matter what stereotype they've made, they will be accepting of the two of us. The news paper even believes we are a force of good." He smiled. Esuna looked up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"**You really make yourself look weird sometimes." **

"Uhh… explain?"

"**Making a person that looks like a Pokémon fall for you? You know people don't look upon those pairings lightly." **She smiled. **"Still, you really care about me **_**that **_**much huh?"**

"Well, why wouldn't I? I mean I treated all my friends with…" Fletch then became silently depressed. "…dignity and… respect." Esuna felt his emotional change and hugged him again. "I'm sorry I just… am remembering what I lost."

"**You miss all your Pokémon don't you?" **Fletch nodded and hugged her back.

"I was so reckless. I just literally threw them away and went off with you. Now… I might never be able to go back?" He looked at Esuna with tearful eyes. "That's why I care so much about you. As of right now… you are really the only family I've got left." Esuna didn't say a word. "I'll never let them take you… never." And from a distance, the Lopunny was watching from a crack in the door.

"…" She watched the scene unfold and frowned. She was going to escape them and go about her usual business, but now. Now she wanted to make this human, one of her own kind now, happy. "…but stay strong." She imagined herself talking to him. "…I'm in the same boat. And you will see them again." She stood up. "If we all become heroes, anything's possible." She took out her picture and nodded. "Anything's possible." She steeled herself and opened the door with her good arm, her other arm still numb at the moment. The two whirled around and saw her standing there. "Anything's possible." She said to Fletch.

"You're awake, thank goodness!" Fletch kept his distance. "Your arm better?" She shrugged.

"Still numb." She looked at Esuna. "Oh, yeah I can talk like a human. It's true what I said, we become like them." Fletch looked at Esuna and then back. "Come on, try speaking for real."

"She does speak for real." Fletch mentioned.

"No." The Lopunny walked closer, making them take a step back. She sighed. "She uses her psychic powers to project the words she's thinking into sound while moving her lips, but not making a sound from her lips. She's basically lip syncing."

"**So what if I am? Does it matter?" **The Lopunny sighed.

"I guess not. And calm down will you? I won't attack you guys because I know I'm no match for your Gardevoir's wind powers." She looked away. "I guess I also owe you a thank you. Your green misty stuff got on my feet again." Fletch looked at Esuna and relaxed.

"Well uh, no problem." He looked around. "So uh, that picture you have…"

"So it was you who looked at it." Fletch nodded.

"Listen, I have no idea what it feels like to be separated."

"Yeah cut the crap. You absolutely know what it feels like to be separated." She interrupted. "I broke an arm, not my skull. I hear you two out here, and it's quite touching." Esuna blushed. "But you and I are in the same boat. We both want to get back to something right?" Fletch remained silent before nodding.

"Yeah."

"And you want to protect her, and keep her with you right?" She pointed to Esuna. Fletch gave Esuna a look and nodded once more.

"Yes." Then she extended her good hand.

"We're partners then. Leafiea, I have nature's power." Fletch waited for a minute before smiling and shaking her fluffy hand.

"Fletch, I have healing wind powers." Then Fletch looked back at Esuna. "Well, she's our partner after all right?" Esuna looked at Fletch and smiled.

"**Well if you trust her that much, then fine." **She shook the fluffy hand. **"Esuna, I have destruction wind powers." **Leafiea smiled.

"Oh I remember. Trust me." Then another thought crossed her mind, particularly of the people outside. "But before we start, I must ask. What exactly will the _people _think of the mass murderer that only kills drug lords walking freely in their city? And _why_ is it a positive thing to be good? I'm sure each one of those people out there would have me bound and locked in a cage for a _very long time_." She gave them both a questioning look. The pair looked at each other and whispered to each other.

"…I don't know… I don't know." He said twice in a hushed voice.

"**Look just trust me. I'll handle her, you just stay here and find our next guy, got it?" **Fletch looked at Leafiea and sighed.

"Fine, but I'll handle any human ones we find, understood?" She nodded. "All yours, good luck." Fletch went into the kitchen to get a drink while Esuna talked to her responsibility.

"**So, you want to know what's so good about being… well, good?" **The Lopunny nodded. **"I won't lie to you, I was the same way when I first become this thing I am today. I thought, fuck everyone else's happiness, I can get whatever the hell I want. Who would've stopped me right?" **She laughed and turned her back. **"Ah… then when I was being that selfish monster, I saw the ugliness in the world. The people wanted me dead, no trainer would take in a freak." **She swallowed. **"Then I met Diantha, and she eventually introduced me to Fletch." **Esuna put a hand to her chest and turned in her heel. **"Then I knew I would fight alongside him, because he just had this… heroic aura. That same heroic aura embodies each one of us, we all have it. We just need to meet requirements to unleash it." **Then she walked over and picked up the paper. **"And those people that want you dead? Some will still be a total ass-hat about it. But others…" **She showed the headline of the paper. **"Others will remember their heroes and villains. Fletch walked outside today and got swarmed by people. But not by angry people, people praising him." **

"Hmm…" Esuna saw she was thinking.

"**Really though, it's easy to be evil and get what you want while hurting others." **Then she made Leafiea look up. **"But if you were to die today, right now in this spot. Would you be satisfied with your track record? And again, what would you say to your maker when you get to him?" **This provoked a deep thought from Leafiea. **"Right now, I'd say this: Please do not be harsh. I realized my purpose and my true desires as an individual just now, and I wanted to do more to reverse all the pain I caused to anyone in my past. Give me another chance. That is what I would say." **Leafiea looked up.

"…oh wow."

"**While you might not have the worst past, it could always be better. Those people will love you, if you help them and their needs over your own. That's what a hero does, in addition to many more complex things that involve fighting. But what I just said is the first step." **Leafiea had a small fire behind her eyes, dancing with her thoughts.

"I think I get what you're saying. Also, amazing speech." She smiled. "Alright, you two seem like good people and… Pokémon?" Esuna shrugged. "Count me in." Esuna smiled and took a sigh of relief.

"**Good, that's good to hear." **Esuna pondered what should come next then glanced at her arm. **"Maybe we can start with something a little less physically intensive. I don't mean to sound like a human scientist… but I'm making a 'little black book' of all the powers I've come across. So if it is okay with you, I'd like to take a look at your power you got there." **Esuna looked at her reaction. **"I fully understand if you refuse. I won't blame you." **Then Leafiea looked towards the kitchen and them back at Esuna.

"I'll do it under one condition." Esuna was surprised at her request.

"**Of course, what is it?" **

"Since I'm working alongside you for now, I'd like to see what you've collected so far. If anything." Esuna quickly nodded.

"**Absolutely!" **She responded immediately. **"Fletch, come into the lab room. We need to show you both something!" **Fletch tried talking but had his mouth full of food. No longer caring for his manners, he walked into the room holding a doughnut. **"Oh, I see you're busy stuffing your face?" **Fletch nodded and took another bite.

Esuna then projected an image into a big screen and had a list of all the powers she's come across. Then she stood up and talked about each one of them.

"**I've been doing this for a while, since I became a Pokémon." **The screen showed wind power and Esuna doing various moves. **"The first power I discovered, obviously, was my own wind power. I only know of three types of wind power, Destruction, Mistweaver, and one I haven't seen known as Balance. I'm led to believe it's a middle ground between the two." **She then showed a new power, electrics.

"**This one I've tried to capture, but he's gotten taken into military custody… and reports say she was executed." **She fell silent for a while. **"Anyway, from field observation, this one had what I referred to as Automaton. This name is because she could control electronic devices. As far as I know, there might be one more electrical Pokémon and or human out there." **Then she changed the picture to an ice power.

"**One I had captured and befriended was killed in action when I turned into a Pokémon." **The picture showed a Floette using different Ice actions. Some of them were beams of ice and an attack similar to a wind lance, but an ice lance. Fletch and Leafiea noticed her ominous silence.

"Uh… Esuna?"

"**Anyway, she was the only one I knew of in existence. So her name was Flaura, and she died in a confrontation with the military. She unfortunately did not survive the attack in allowing me to escape." **She composed herself. **"Those are all I know about." **Fletch tapped her shoulder and whispered.

"We'll talk later…" Then Leafeia walked up and smiled.

"Deal's a deal. I'll enter your database." Esuna faked a smile and closed the video. She set up the machine while Fletch walked out of the room. The Leafiea spoke. "If there's any time we go and avenge her, I'm automatically in."

"**Thanks… I really shouldn't keep it in mind, but I will. Let's just get this done and we'll go from there." **


	6. Is a Leaf's Only Purpose to Fall?

**This chapter... was a hard one to write. I don't know why. It's just it was hard. That's why this took so long to throw out here. Just read it, i can't do this chapter any justice with words. Let me know what you think.**

(Three Days Later)

Luck isn't on Esuna's side as of late. We were practicing our powers and well… I've noticed that her powers are very self-destructive. She learned a new trick, and it killed her. Thankfully, I've developed an ability that can bring her back from death. Though it taxes me greatly and sort of um… kills me for a day, it's worth it.

I honestly hate the feeling of being out for a day. When I wake up it's like a steel fist pummeled my into the ground, plucked me out and punched me across the city. But it's a only a minor side-effect of my condition, I mean I can defy death… kind of.

So, to make sure we didn't fall behind. Leafiea, with her healed arm volunteered to take the next search for our "Snats." That's the word we've decided we'd call ourselves and others like us. It is originated from Supernatural. Leafiea says its supernatural abbreviated.

Leafiea was sitting on a park bench, bored out of her mind. It was a cloudy afternoon and the people and Pokémon around her just stared for days. She really didn't care too much; I mean she was used to them trying to kill her. Their reactions were satisfactory… for now.

"_Yo, Leaf." _Leafiea looked up and could swear she heard Fletch talking. _"Damn, does this shit even work? Helllloo?" _

"Uhh, what?" To the eyes of others, she was speaking to herself.

"_Wait, Leaf? Is that you?" _Leafiea looked around again and saw Fletch nowhere.

"Uh… yeah."

"_Oh damn! It works! It's me Fletch, I'm still at the hideout, but I can talk to you telepathically, isn't that crazy? Try it, say what you would say to me but in your head." _Confused, Leafiea strained herself and finally she spoke.

"_Ughnnn work!"_

"_There! I can hear you?"_

"_How the hell are we able to do this?"_

"_Well whenever Esuna uses her power, some of it leaks into my mind. I'm a novice psychic now! You just happen to be partially exposed to this power… hmm." _Leafiea looked around and she was gathering a crowd. She got up and moved away from the park.

"_So what's up?"_

"_Esuna is on her way to your location. She heard from one of the people on the street that some Snat is coming to reap divine justice on all of us. Sounds like some fantasy type B.S." _Leafiea looked up and saw a few clouds.

"_Reap divine justice? Is Arceus a Snat?" _

"_No idea, but rumor has it this one is human. To top it off, his power is freaky, that's why I'll be joining you two soon."_

"_Why?" _She was curious. _"What power is so terrifying that nature and wind can't stand up to it?" _Fletch fell silent for a second. _"Fletch, you there?"_

"_It's power is flesh." _Leafiea tried to picture it.

"_Flesh? Seriously? Like what, blood or something?"_

"_No, no. Actual molding of flesh. It can mold it's flesh into durable carapace or what I imagine to be spiky claws." _

"_Huh… sounds kinda cool." _Fletch laughed at the other end.

"_Yeah, but Esuna says this isn't the first time it's come rampaging through a city. The first time, Esuna was able to drive it out at the outskirts of town. This time she feels that it's gotten a lot stronger since then. So I'm going to assist you two in this potential and likely fight." _Leafiea then saw Esuna's misty trail and watched as a tiny cloud materialized into a Gardevoir. Esuna landed softly on the ground beside Leafiea and shivered.

"**Head winds are cold today." **She commented. **"So, your arm feeling better?" **

"Yeah, thanks. I should ask you how you're doing. You know you are very lucky he can raise you up each time you die." Esuna sighed and nodded.

"**I'm well aware. But there is way more to it then you understand. You have no idea how strange… but blissful it feels to come back from the dead." **Her look turned cryptic. **"It's like being dirty for a month then showering it all away and feeling so light and happy, but you question why you were dirty for a week. Plus it's a side effect of my power. Destructive wind power is exactly was the name implies, destructive. So each time I pick up a new skill, there's a strong chance that it will hurt me, a lot as you can see." **

"Yeah. From what I hear you also tried to kill yourself. What's wrong with you man?" Esuna seemed alarmed that she had known about that.

"**I-uh… look, we can point fingers later. Now we have a job to do." **Esuna leapt onto the rooftop of another building with her wind power while Leafiea made a grotto that she could scale to the roof.

"Right…" Then they both leapt up to a high building and sat there waiting for something to happen. Leafiea was bored already after five minutes of silence. Each time she looked up at Esuna, she seemed to be sleeping with her eyes open. That or she was really deep in thought where Leafiea's two conclusions.

After several more minutes, Leafiea was totally sick of the silence and the apprehension leaking from Esuna's pose.

"Why did you want to kill yourself, before you even met Fletch?" Esuna didn't look back and sighed.

"**That's a little bit of a personal question don't you think?"**

"I wouldn't have asked it if it wasn't." She replied. "It's obvious the kid likes you, but I wonder what it was about him that made you change. From the sound of it, you were quite pessimistic. Also…" She stood up and sat beside her. "Why won't you talk like this? You know all infected people and Pokémon can speak. I'm sure it was strange when you were just a Pokémon, but it not like you were a human or anything." Esuna's mind shivered and she ignored her statement.

"**I don't talk like 'this' because my voice like sounds bad." **Then she looked at Leafiea with an angry expression. **"And just what do you need to know about me? Look, if I were to tell you the hell I've endured since this all began, you would freak out at how I haven't destroyed half the region. Believe me, I have the capability to do it." **Then she took a breath and calmed down. **"I… do that because it puts me at ease… okay?" **Leafiea looked into her eyes and recoiled.

"Oh… oh you're serious."

"**I've almost killed myself plenty times before. I've just never followed through with it. And with my power, I knew I always had an easy way out. Face it Leafiea, the army wants us all dead. Honestly, I'd rather end it myself than slowly die hooked up to drugs and being ripped open by a hack saw for their research." **She paused and then looked at her hands. **"Yeah then I met Fletch and he seemed nice, too nice, very naïve. Once he was my friend… I figured my time had come to die. I killed myself after we learned about each other a lot. I did that because he would remember me."** Leafiea shook her head.

"Wow…"

"**The entire reason we met was because a friend of mine had been trying to find me a suitable human trainer for a while. Then she succeeded and we stuck together like a magnet to a fridge. But the wild twist in this story is that he revived me." **Esuna smiled and shook her head. **"His power was the perfect counter-force to mine. They took him and experimented on him… and it saved my life." **She covered her eyes. **"Then he just knows what to say at every turn. I hate to say that I actually kind of love him in a way."**

"You either love someone or you don't. There is no 'kinda' love someone." Leafiea pointed out.

"**Okay, fine. I do love him I guess. But do I really love him for you know… **_**him? **_**Or do I love him because he saved me?"**

"Well from what you are telling me, you already know the answer. And c-can I just say something before I forget it?" Esuna waited patiently. "You killing yourself after he got to know you, that is so fucking low." Esuna recoiled. "How could you do that, seriously? You know Pokémon frown upon that, any living thing that is sentient, maybe even a robot would be disgusted by that!" Leafiea got in her face. "Dude, the boy saved your ass, probably more than once honestly. You never throw a chance someone gave you because you are sorry for himself. Think for a second, just for a second what that would've done to Fletch if he couldn't revive you. And do you even know how painful it is on his body when he does that? He can't even walk for an entire day after!" She composed herself and sat back. "Look, I'm not one to judge anything or anyone, but you can never do that again. I won't let you. Fletch is probably the sweetest, bravest human I've ever crossed. Just don't be blind to that… okay?" Esuna was silent, still absorbing the outburst.

"**Yeah." **She said. **"I needed the wake up call. Thanks." **She meant it genuinely and Leafiea nodded in agreement.

"Well thank you." She looked up. "And I guess thanks for you know, saving me from myself and bullets."

"**Yeah well you would've done the same I'm sure." **Leafiea smiled.

"Yeah." Then Leafiea cupped her hand to her ear and stood up. "Shh…" Esuna looked at her and stood up as well.

"**Trouble?"**

"Not exactly… it sounds like an engine." Then a giant shadow passed over them. It was like a giant bird that appeared to be dropping things from its talons. Whatever it was, it was white and thin. As the objects slowly fell down, Leafiea saw what it was. "Paper."

"**Paper?" **Esuna used her psychic power to drag one closer to her. Then she read it out loud. **"To the cattle of Lumiose. The Culling is going to happen. The streets will be purged with a red sea of holy justice. You have been warned." **Esuna then saw an ornate 'F' on the note and showed it to Leafiea. **"This is from him." **

"Wow… a mass warning, and a grim one too."

"_Hey Esuna, you see anything out there?"_

"_**Yeah, a giant bird just dropped papers containing a warning to all the people here." **_

"_Well you're gonna love this one. The army found a way to tap into our computers. I just got off the phone with a guy that calls himself Finalken. He's a general of the army, get this; they want our help. They have asked us to help defend from this Snat. Clearly, this one is something to be feared." _Esuna laughed hysterically.

"_**They have a lot of nerve asking us for help."**_

"_But it also means they are desperate. They are asking for a rendezvous point so we can plan our attack." _Esuna looked at Leafiea who was able to hear the conversation.

"They are pretty desperate… but it could be a trap." Esuna nodded.

"**Agreed." **

"_**We will meet at Prism Tower. But do warn him, we will attack of threatened." **_

"_It's only a fair request. I'm heading there now, you'd best do the same." _Esuna pointed at Prism Tower and looked at Leafiea.

"**Alright let's move."**

* * *

(Base of Prism Tower, 20 minutes later)

The two approached a tent with armed soldiers outside. Fletch felt Esuna's presence and paused his conversation with Finalken.

"Excuse me, my friends are here." He stood up and poked his head outside the tent and waved at the two approaching Pokémon.

"Stand down. Those are friendlies." Finalken had naturally blonde hair, dyed white and a long green coat on with an officer's cap on his head. "Hang on." He walked out in front of Fletch and gripped his gun before looking at Fletch. "What's thorn bitch doing with you? She's dangerous company!"

"You know, I can hear you right?" She said back.

"She's with us, just let her through." The soldier gave him a suspecting look and waved his hand to put his soldiers at ease. "Hey you two."

"Yeah, it's really great to be greeted with a nickname." Leafiea said sarcastically.

"**Hello… er… gentlemen." **She got dirty looks from the soldiers near the tent.

"So I'll fill in the blanks on the situation. This monster is hiding amongst us. From what Fletch here told us-…"

"Yeah can we not use the 'm' word?" Fletch quietly butted in.

"What, monster?"

"Yes please." The officer sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Unique beings." He rephrased.

"**Thank you." **Esuna said with a smile.

"Anyway, this single 'Unique being' can mold and make flesh. So as such, he has molded himself probably into a civilian looking individual that blends in. As you may or may not know, this isn't the first time he's appeared in Lumiose City." Esuna looked up and made eye contact with the officer.

"**Care for me to explain what you'll be fighting." **He looked at her for a sometime then at his soldiers at attention.

"Try not to scare the shit out of them too much. But just enough will do." Esuna then felt something in her head click. Her eyes flew to one of the soldiers that she could swear wasn't there a second ago.

"**So… First thing is he can morph into some scary, sci-fi movie monsters; things that shouldn't exist. You there, on the end of the row, step forward." **The officer looked and saw another soldier standing there that he had not seen. **"State your name and hometown." **The man stepped forward, not revealing his face.

"James Maddison, Lumiose City." Then the officer walked back into the tent and came out again, gun drawn.

"On the ground." Esuna's eyes grew wide and she looked back at the soldier. Then time froze as a fleshy tentacle with a massive spike drove through her chest. Fletch felt her life force vanish instantly.

"HOLY FUCK!" He screamed.

"Kill the asshole!" The officer yelled. The soldiers ran after the fleeing Snat. Fletch ran over to Esuna and Leafiea was next to him.

"Oh Arceus…" Leafiea covered her eyes.

"No. She's not dying yet." Then he looked at Leafiea. "You need to do this fight without me." Then Fletch stood up and channeled a condensed vortex and took both of Esuna's cold hands. Then Esuna's wound closed and her eyes shot open.

"**What in the hell just happened?" **She said flatly. Then Fletch grasped his chest and looked up at Leafiea.

"I'll see you on the other side…" Then he slowly fell on his side and drifted away into a deep sleep. Esuna looked down and saw Fletch had saved her, again.

"**I died… how? Did I kill myself again?!" **She stood up and Leafiea tapped her shoulder.

"Not exactly. He did." She pointed at the now flying snake that was the Snat.

"**We need to be careful, let's go!" **Esuna and Leafiea launched themselves into the air and pursued the fleeing Snat. Esuna narrowly dodged a volley of spikes and Leafiea shot a long vine towards him. It was a perfect shot and she made it drag him down to the ground.

"Get him!" Esuna created a micro-burst of wind to pin him to the ground. Then he transformed into a massive beast that resembled a mammoth. It dwarfed the size of a Mamoswine, by far. "Look out!"

The beast, in place of tusks, had massive silver-like blades. In roared and shattered all nearby windows and made Esuna cover her ears. Then it stampeded towards them, smashing the soldiers that were on the ground. They both saw it was going for the tower and charged at it. Esuna's wind was way more mobile than Leafiea's plant power. She was shooting vines at buildings to maneuver as fast as possible. Esuna shot a series of wind blasts at it and Leafiea shot thorny vines to try and slow it down. Esuna then saw Leafiea's movements slowing from exhaustion. Then she thought and looked back at the beast. It's focus how now changed to Leafiea. Since her exhaustion was so clear to Esuna, it was easily seen by the Snat.

"**Get back Leafiea!" **She screamed too late. One of the massive blades slashed through her sides, sending her spiraling to the ground. Leafiea hit the ground and tumbled over and over until she finally came to a rest against the base of Prism Tower. **"Oh shit… oh shit shit shit!" **She used her psychic ability to teleport onto the blade and she dashed closer to the armored head.

Esuna opened her palm and infused the head with pressurized air. Then she did a kick-flip off the monster and used her legs to propel herself in the air. Then she closed her eyes, put her hands in front of her and froze. Then there was a flash of pink followed by an intense laser of psychic and wind power fused into a single Hyper Beam. The creature was disintegrated after about 5 seconds. A single human fell to the ground. Esuna quickly caught him mid-flight and tossed him into the air. She teleported above him and focused wind power into her fist. Then she dropped her hand onto his mid-section and smashed him into the ground, creating a medium-sized crater.

Esuna stood over her defeated foe and luckily, the person himself was not totally killed. He healed himself only to be restrained by Esuna's foot. By this time, the wind had become very fierce and was making her dress look intimidating, in spite of its elegant purpose.

"Good ahead Esuna. Turn me in, send me to prison where I belong." Esuna shook her head and clenched her fist.

"**I doubt the army would want you." **Then he gave a smug smile.

"Oh yeah? Why's that, hero of the day?" He mocked her.

"**They don't have a dirty enough morgue for where your body will need to go after I'm finished with you." **Then the smug look turned to one of fear. **"Scratch that. Let me ask you, monster." **She said the word aggressively. **"…when you died, did you want to be buried or… cremated? Maybe both?" **

"Yo-you wouldn't!"

"**You just did. So why wouldn't I?" **Then she took a wind sphere and jammed it into his mouth. She leapt up and froze again. Then there was another flash of pink followed by a much larger laser. This was followed by nothing but a pile of ash in a massive crater. **"I DID send you where you belong. Hell." **Then she remembered Leafiea. **"…Leaf!" **

The Gardevoir flew as fast as she could. She could feel Leafiea life force rapidly leaving her as she sat against the base of Prism Tower, her fur and hands covered in blood. Esuna landed and saw almost her entire left side of her gut was gone. She didn't care though. She rushed to her side and held her close.

"**Leaf, everything's going to be okay." **Leafiea coughed and shivered in pain.

"…oh man- ACK- don't look at me li- AHCK- like that…" She grasped Esuna's hand and held it close. "…listen. I've stopped coughing. That's not a good thing."

"…"

"It means this is my high point before I die. My mind knows it so it's happening now. So please listen and answer my life-long question, p-please?" Esuna nodded and smiled, tears rushing down her face.

"**Y-yeah. I'll listen. Talk all you want, I'll listen for all eternity!" **Leafiea smiled, blood trickling from her lip.

"My trainer named me Leaf when I was born. He loved me like a daughter, and I loved him like a father because he hatched me. Then… then I evolved and became an asshole. I remember we got into a fight… then that's when he said the question I still need an answer for…" Esuna waited for the next thing. "Esuna… Is… is a leaf's only purpose… to fall?"

"…**a leaf's only purpose… to fall?"**

"Is a leaf's only purpose to fall?! Does a leaf have ANY other meaning other than to fall and wither away? Or does it symbolize new life and hope?" Esuna deeply pondered her question. "Did my death… save anything or anyone? D-did it help Fletch and you out?" Esuna shut her eyes and pressed her face into her warm fur while sobbing.

"**OF COURSE IT DID! YOU SAVED ME! YOU SAVED FLETCH! YOU SAVED THE ENTIRE DAMNED CITY!" **She wept and wailed for a long time. Then Leafiea stroked her back.

"You and… Fletch… were the only… family I had." Then Leafiea gave Esuna a green ribbon. "Give it to a man named Garret in the north part of Lumiose City. He will know what to do with the item." Esuna took the ribbon and looked at her, resuming her tears. "Thank you for… kicking my ass on the tower… You've made my last interaction… death…" Her hand fell limp. "…worthy." She closed her eyes and her body went cold. Esuna looked at her dead friend and sobbed some more. At this point, some soldiers had come to help the fight. But all of them were watching from a distance the events unfolding in front of them. Esuna knew it was time to say goodbye.

"**I love you sister…" **She whispered into Leafiea's ear. Then she used her wind to dissolve her body into white pearls of mist. They rose to the sky and vanished from sight. **"THANK YOU!" **She screamed to the sky.

* * *

"**A leaf's purpose is not to fall. No. A leaf symbolizes a new beginning. When one turns over a new-leaf, they are changing their ways for the good of themselves and those around them. When a leaf falls off a tree, the wind carries it to another destination. On the way, it sees everything in its horror and its beauty. When a natural weather disaster hits and rubble is everywhere… that leaf in the wind might be the hope one searcher needs to push through to the end. And for small Pokémon that need shelter from the rain or heat… they seek shelter on or under a leaf. No Leafiea. Your only purpose was not to fall. Like those smaller Pokémon… you shielded the city, me, and Fletch from certain death. You were a brave Pokémon. And those who die to protect others will always be remembered… The people have constructed a statue in the very spot you and I talked last. They admire your heroic sacrifice just as much as I do, maybe even more. Sleep well Leafiea… and as Fletch said…" **Esuna stood in front of a crowd. They were all looking at a statue of a proud Lopunny with leaves flowing around it. **"I'll see you on the other side…"**


End file.
